We almost never watch live TV anymore. When the TV is on, it’s mostly Netflix these days, but every once in a while, we watch live events. And it’s happened more than once now, where all of a sudden, my kids are staring at some sweaty, half-dressed young woman as she rides a mechanical bull, or grinds on the hood of a Camaro, or arches her back in ecstasy on the beach… all while messily eating a burger. A burger from Hardee’s to be exact (or Carls Jr. in some places). She seductively sucks down a drink with an extra wide straw, and takes a giant bite of a surprisingly sultry burger, whose juices always seem to end up spilling on her thigh or chest. Then she cleans it up—in slow motion—by wiping it up with her finger and licking her finger clean. And there I am, scrambling for the remote while trying to get my kids to look at some imaginary distraction….

“Won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children!!”

I am so sick of these stupid commercials. I’m not trying to sound like a prude, here. Sex is great. It’s a really big part of being human (bigger for some than others), and I realize that “sex sells.” I’m not even saying this advertising campaign doesn’t work—I feel like eating a burger right now just writing about it–but my “beef” with these commercials is not just about sex. It’s about our kids (And yes, I’m aware that I sound a bit like Helen Lovejoy). Our kids are watching these commercials. If Hardee’s wants to be a sleazy company that uses soft porn to try and sell their burgers, I say great. Strip clubs have the right to exist, but I also have the right to expect that the strip club commercials aren’t being run during programs that my kids might be watching. And here’s the thing: I’ve seen a lot of strip club commercials in my life, and NONE of them are as overtly sexual and explicit as these freaking Hardee’s commercials. They have a right to make sexy commercials of girls in bikinis eating burgers. And we have a right to let them know that we’re NOT BUYING IT, and as long as they continue to put these commercials on where our kids stumble across them, we will not be spending one dollar on their crappy, 1200 calorie burgers.

Above we see one of the less popular Hardee’s commercials….

It bothers me more for my daughters than for my son. The world tries to sexualize our kids before it’s time–our boys too, but ESPECIALLY our girls. Kids are going to encounter sexy images even without a TV. I can clearly remember lingering in the bra section of the J.C. Penny catalog as a boy, and then the jump in intensity that was the Victoria’s Secret catalog. You can’t even walk through a mall without being accosted by cleavage on all sides. There is an ocean of pornography—readily available at the touch of a phone—that all of our sons are going to need to learn to navigate. And our girls already face next-to-impossible odds of coming through adolescence with a healthy self-image…. I don’t want Hardee’s commercials subtly suggesting to my daughters their warped ideas of what it means for a girl to be “desirable.”

I almost never wear my leather swimsuit when I wash my car, but that’s just me…. It’s strictly a comfort thing.

A while ago I wrote about considering not going to Chick-Fil-A because of their disgusting support of groups that work to take away the civil rights of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered. And as gross as that is, I think at least they are honestly confused about what the Bible says about homosexuality, and they’re trying to do the right thing…. Hardee’s is trying to do THE OPPOSITE of the right thing. I would rather shove Chick-Fil-A’s hormone-filled, MSG-soaked chicken into my gullet every Monday-Saturday from here on out than give $1 to Hardee’s while the people in charge continue to pump out these commercials.

“No sweetie…. One foot in front of the other, and suck in your tummy a bit.”

And it’s not just these commercials…. If you subscribe to a magazine that PhotoShops their images of girls into impossibly skinny, hyper-sexual Barbie forms, you should cancel your subscription. And you should encourage your friends to do the same. And you should let the company know why you did it. If you shop and give your money to a place like Abercrombie, that sells padded bikini tops for eight year old girls, you should rightly be ashamed of yourself—I don’t care how much your kids beg. We don’t teach our children conformity. If our young daughters come to us saying, “I wish I had bigger boobs,” we don’t respond by going out and buying them padded bras or plastic surgery. We teach them that their body is lovely and perfect just the way it is…. And this is a lesson we have to start teaching very early. I will not sit in silence while images from every angle tell my kids that they are not good enough. We need to not spend money at Hardee’s, and we need to let the people in charge know WHY. If you knowingly support something that contributes to the sexualization of our young girls, or the soul-crushing, dementedly impossible expectation of what is being sold as “perfection” that destroys our daughters’ body-images with unhealthy expectations, you are an awful person. Stop it. Right now, stop it.

Heidi Klum, posing next to her weekly calorie intake.

Now, some people might say that those companies are just giving people what they want—that if there wasn’t a market for people who liked to be sold fast food by scantily-clad actresses having oral sex with a Thickburger, those commercials wouldn’t exist. And those people might be right. Maybe the decent people ARE outnumbered…. But I don’t think it’s about being either decent or depraved…. I think it’s about calling out to the decency in all of us. Sometimes we need a reminder of our own goodness. We need someone to look at us and say, “You’re better than that.” We are better than that! We are not powerless to do anything about the shitty stuff we see all around us. And this is one place to start. Call up Hardee’s customer complaint line. Let them know that their ads might be working for some people, but that you’re NOT BUYING IT…. And that you won’t be taking one bite of their SleazeBurger (Copyright, The Boeskool) until they put an end to this degrading ad campaign, and issue a public apology for making the world seem hopelessly disgusting.

Here are some ways for you to let Hardee’s know you won’t be going there until the commercials stop: Their comment line is (877) 799-STAR (7827). They have a designated line just for comments about the commercials, but they always give you bull about “higher than average call volume,” so all I’ve been able to do there is leave a message. I doubt they want you talking to a human being about how degrading the commercials are (what a horrible job THAT would be), though I bet that if I found Paris Hilton’s IUD in my sandwich, I would be able to speak with an actual person…. You can also write an email by clicking HERE, or you can write them an actually letter and send it to the address below:

The only thing that effects change in a company like this (they are the 5th biggest chain behind Subway, McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s) is to cost them money…. That or really annoy them with public shaming, which I whole-heartedly support.

Here we see a Hardee’s Commercial staring Mr. Puzder and Texas Governor Rick Perry…. Within moments, they will be almost naked and wrestling on a hay bale.

Hardee’s is owned by CKE Restaurants, and the CEO of CKE Restaurants is a man named Andrew Puzder. Andy Puzder is an outspoken critic of raising the minimum wage…. Which is understandable, because some of that wage increase would certainly come out of the $4.485 million per year he makes as CEO (at least that’s what he made in 2012). He was also an Economic Adviser and a spokesman for the Romney Campaign for President. He writes a blog that you can see HERE, but don’t expect much…. It’s not nearly as entertaining as mine. He says that Hardee’s target audience is “Young hungry guys and the women that love them.” Maybe leave him a comment or two or a hundred asking him why he feels the need to degrade women in order to sell his burgers. Ask him if it’s because of his low view of young men, or because of his low view of young women….

And last, but not least, you can take the fight to social media. If you are sick of these commercials too, share this post on Facebook. If you share it on Twitter, feel free to tag Mr. Puzder (his Twitter handle is @AndyPuzder) along with the hashtag #NotBuyingIt. Send him a message about how disappointed you are, and let him know that he’s better than that. This is not just for parents who are tired of having to quick scamper for the remote to change the channel when a Hardee’s commercial comes on…. This is for everyone. We’re better than this, people!

22 Responses to Raising Daughters In A World Full Of Hardee’s Commercials

I actually didn’t know Carl’s Jr. (Hardee’s) aired commercials like that. But I agree, that’s an irritating advertisement tactic. If people want those images, they’re not that hard to find, and everyone else shouldn’t get them shoved in our faces.

As for whether people want the commercials, at some level of course we do. People who can be stimulated in that way generally want to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s healthy to keep having that button pushed, especially by artificial means. It’s like eating sugar.

Unfortunately I don’t think that type of commercial is going anywhere due to market pressures. I think this might be a problem that would be appropriate for municipal or county-level laws/ordinances, like the ban on alcohol sales in some towns near me. Of course, the jurisdiction would have to contain the station, and some people get their TV signals from two counties away. And I don’t think such a law has any business at the state or federal level.

These commercials r ridiculous to have for anyone much less, small children!! I will personally not EVER step another foot in Hardees!! Women are put on display enough!!! But to use them in compliance with what is supposed to b a “Family” eating place????? I pray u upper C.E.Is go flat broke someday.

I’m living in New Zealand, so I’ve never seen these commercials (we don’t have Hardees or Chick Fila over here), but I can imagine. I want my daughter (age 7) to be able to be a kid. There is plenty of time for her to grow up when she’s ready.

I agree about sex too. Sex is amazing, but we do a lot of things as adults, and there are a lot of things in the adult world, that I don’t want my daughter to know about. My partner and I have an amazing kinky sex life, but we hide the chains and shackles from the kids, and make sure they do NOT find the toys. As far as they are aware, his collar is just a “necklace”…there’s plenty of time for them to figure it all out when they’re older. There are plenty of things I just don’t want the kids to know about.

The internet is another issue. We have to make sure that the kids only use devices in the living room when there are adults present, and we don’t left them image search without safe search on. Sometimes I feel like that salmon swimming upstream against…well…EVERYTHING! But what else can a parent do? All I know is I want my kids to have breathing space to *be* kids, and when they discover sex, I want them to *discover* it, not have it shoved in their faces.

Personally, I don’t think the companies advertising in the manner you’re talking about are being responsible or fair to the majority of their audience. Over 50% of the population are female, and about 25% (if I remember rightly about my stats) are under 18. Take these away, adding in the people who don’t want to see all that sex in their faces night and day in the first place, and it’s quite clear that the ads are aimed at a very definite minority. It’s about time the majority of us complained.

Thanks for a good post about an issue that really gets to me. I’m glad we haven’t got ads like this over here yet – hopefully we never will! But please complain for me in the meanwhile!

This post resonated wholeheartedly with me as I have a five year old daughter and am pregnant with my second daughter. The sex craved media our kids are exposed to is not only on commercials but also on regular TV and even channels that we think are “safe” for our kids to watch like disney channel. I watch some shows with my daughter and really wonder what has happened to our society that we allow so much emphasis to be placed on sex. I have really had to censor some of the shows she watches because I really want to minimize what my daughter is exposed to. Its really amazing how the times have changed. She started watched reruns on Nickelodeon of the sitcom “Full House” and I must say that show is so wholesome compared to what we watch today. No sex and in fact I think I have heard maybe one reference to sex on that show and I think you would only get it if you really understood what they were talking about. Compare that to a show like The Big Bang Theory or Two and a Half Men and the differences are crazy! Anyway, thanks again for another great post! Keep it up!

I’m just going to chime in here and say that maybe SEX isn’t the enemy, but objectifying bodies and glorifying meaningless sex is what is. I worry when I hear rants against sex that we are moving back toward puritanical ideals, when we should be embracing healthy, loving sexuality all around, with an emphasis on information, health, and respect .

Believe me, you don’t have to have daughters to find the Hardees commercials offensive. I think they insult all of us men, not just the young ones. And of course they demean women — which diminishes all those who see them.

You end by saying, “We’re better than this, people!” and I hope and pray that you’re right. Sometimes — speaking for humanity as a whole — I’m not so sure.

I won’t even eat there because of those nasty commercials. Be a little more creative without using some skanky chick. The newest “model” is proud of herself for dropping out of highschool, and becoming successful by taking of her clothes. We really are teaching our children good values.

I just saw this commercial and I had an adrenaline rush because of how offensive it is. I have NEVER been offended by ANY commercial in my life. I am not a feminist. I personally love being a stay home mom. I love cooking and cleaning and waiting on my husband hand and foot after he comes home from working 80 hours a week so I don’t have to. This commercial has made me so upset and uncomfortable with the direction the world is going. Heaven help us all.. And I did take the time to send them an email. I hope we can all band together and make this world a little bit better.

I wish I could believe a word this guy wrote, but….no male ever says anything like this without some personal agenda. Wonder what his is? Maybe he thinks chicks will think he’s hot if he acts like he’s on their side? Come on….no men really think like this. If his kids hadn’t been in the room, he’d probably have sat there and drooled. He sort of lost me at the beginning anyway, with the smug little allusion to not watching television….oh, wait….except Netflix….and I’m having trouble reconciling this supposedly responsible family man who dives for the remote to protect his precious pumpkins’ sweet little psyches, with the guy who makes a vulgar comment about a socialite’s birth control….after complaining about softcore porn in commercials.

K: A woman (as any human) has much value beyond her skin. You seem to think objectifying a human is ok… if so, you may want to rethink your positions. Beauty is fleeting, both yours and hers, and likely you will end up either alone with nothing but media images, or with a “once beautiful” woman who aged into “something else”. Are you comfortable with that? How will you deal with your glistening, toned lover turning into a flabby, wrinkled old person – as you will be yourself? Or will you just continue to chase perfect young women, who will increasingly be turned off by your ever-expanding waitline and ever-diminishing hairline?

I don’t disagree with much of what was said about these commercials that have a sexual connotation to it that could and most likely does led to very uncomfortable conversations with children that are younger then the parents would have preferred to have it at. That is these corporations having little to no basic respect for how these commercials could affect their fellow man or woman. They are driven solely by profits and whatever gets them higher will be utilized by restaurants like Hardee’s. These specific commercials with the attractive women eating a burger or drinking a drink in a provocative manner while in slow motion led me to truly contemplate why a business like Hardee’s would create a commercial of this explicit nature. As well as evaluate the weight the women being displayed have in this cycle of selling what could be deemed as the facade hiding the morally justifiable reasons for finding a woman attractive. It irritates me how women are viewed through the basic lense of men, me being one I’m just as guilty as unfairly passing a harsh judgement on young lady without honesty knowing her. That’s not fair to man or woman but the reason it bothers me even with my colaboration at times in the barbarity that is not standing up for the “little guy” is that women have an image ,forge by women ,from the way they carry themselves,weather you think it is a good or bad image, there are still debates conversations activists protesting for gender equality. The fact it’s still a debatable topic should show the self made image made by women can’t be chalk up to be positive and should be renergized with new purpose. As a man as well as a personal view which is neither fully right or wrong is that a person (man or woman) that sells their bodies for sex/sexappeal or use it to better their position while not caring about the collateral damage(i.e gold diggers), better then thatnot caring about someone else feelings, are very weak minded that pray on weaker folk by using their looks and in turn have taken the easy way to the top at the expense of others. These lady’s in these Hardee’s commercials are not one reaching their “possible” potential, maybe not working for something that has worth like being a nurse because that’s the harder path due are settling because of looks and two giving off a image that could be argued as a negative for women as a whole or a positive, some say it’s liberating most see it as a girl being a wh–e. Matter of opinions, personal beliefs are never wrong, should never be judged and its not right that people get labeled because of wardrobe or occupation but I hope that the person reading this can understand that this is the world we live in. Everyone goes through this crossroad of joining the group or being the rebel, conforming or being true to yourself and stick to your guns. Both choices end with the same result, lines drawn in the sand and zero compromise. They then blame the other for gridlock, fanaticism,etc which results in no progress, nothing, both sides are both part of the same evil and both contribute to what they think they confront. People don’t seem to understand that compromise, sacrificing what you might want for someone else’s feelings or attitude whatever isn’t a display of weakness it’s a show of strength, showing people the high road, showing you are willing to sacrifice your immediate desires to work togeteher for them. People are scared to be the first one to give in because they fear the possible exploration from their peers and uselessness of it in the end. Giving into fear manifests itself in many different complex ways, the hard core feminist fear the domination of men that they see fighting fire with fire as the solution, and that works out a lot. Ladies I see personally no problem with this free the nipple craze that recently was sweeping through the young ladies around my age, I get it ,I understand, I don’t care, don’t wear a shirt at the beavh is that turly empower you the way you wanted or expected too, if so cool but that sense of meaningless empowerment was from taking off your shirt and bra….I find first female president pretty empowering but the best solution y’all came up with….. Taking your shirts off….because men don’t wear shirts why should we. An eye for an eye makes the world blind, there are other sensible rational people out there that could see ,understand and not mind it based on the basic rational ideal but come on if that’s truly that empowering and it makes u feel equal to men then you need to ask yourself this question how is showing your nips one justifying equality and two have you considered how that affects people ,random people at that, if it makes someone or a group uneasy would you enjoy that level of uneasiness if no then you shouldn’t want to free your nip not cause it’s not morally right but because your personal sense of what is morally right is causing problems conflicts arguments when that happens what was morally right to you has made you morally wrong. The basic principle of having morals is do the greatest good for the most people, having respect for someone else’s morals. The public opinion is anything but rational, girls “freeing the nipple”will unfortunately,unfairly never be fully socially accepted and girls doing it will be immediately labeled as a “slut” “whore” mean ,harsh ,uanessacry words used without caring about the reasonable reasons why it’s fair , if guys can so should girls too, all they will ever see is that “slut” but all that unfair labeling is the same evil as being so overbearing with your views that it makes people feel the same way; uneasy, uncomfortable, unimportant making you the same monster as the man calling you a slut. This father should be upset about his daughters seeing these commercials however I believe things are what people make it because it could be a valuable lesson of how they should carry themselves via their intellect and being a good person that cares for the people around them. My father always tells me life’s about doing things you don’t want to do, nothing could be more true. If y’all “free the nip” or continue to act like their sex /sex appeal is power or is somehow making it equal via empowerment by showing skin , then I’m sorry there will never be true gender equality, douchebag guys already only see girls via tits and ass you are feeding the fire that is douche bag guys . Rise above the pettiness, don’t give men the ammunition to call y’all lady’s of the night. The women of America have the chance to and the power to be the “bigger” gender, use your bodies to highlight the true elligamce that is a woman, which is her personality her character what truly matters. We men are stuck in enteral purgatory, we can only be the hunter meat head brut it’s our nature, the evolution of a man is short and simple the woman’s evolution goes only as far as she wants. The corporations airing this commercials see it as a profit making, giving what the people want mentality, they I’m sure believe some how showing boobs with a burger is morally justifiable in their biased greed filled minds. All I see is weakness,only the weak use cheap tricks or ploys, how bad is the food if you want me to be solely staring at a gourgous woman, to hide their lack of quality food, service, in general having zero integrity for the creation/preparation of the product being portrayed (the burgers). It makes sense what they do it’s easy, they make easy money by essentially deceiving the consumer by drawing their attention away from the food to Betty’s knockers. I was always told the person with the loudest mouth had the smallest mind, or if someone is constantly pointing out his o hers own accolades in a show off way , I’ve,learned through life experience that it’s there over bearing very public overcompensation of things they actual don’t have or something they aren’t or trying to be. The world is becoming a less enlightened place people are choosing to be content, for lack of a better phrase “dumbing down”. It’s becoming a less caring an understanding place as a result of the contentness of people not caring or wanting to learn about why things are, how they got that way, or wanting to figure out why girls are “freeing the nipple”, quick passss of judgment with that knowledge of why,how,what shows a small mind. Women don’t allow yourselves displayed in a way if it isn’t constructive or a product of progress, even if you like doing that, it’s not about you,it’s not about me, it’s about US. Our individual wants are secondary to the greater good for this reason, how will our grandkids look back on the adolescences of the 21st century, will it be a history of stubbornness where women refuse to wear shirts cause it’s guys don’t and the guys deeming the women who are just standing up for what they believe in. This world needs to evolve to survive we have to as a people, that can’t happen until there is compromise. Until we care for the stranger next to you for the sake of everyone which comes back to affect you or until men stop putting down women as a whole or the day a good looking women doesn’t want to be on a Hardee’s commercial selling sex for the reason of that mans daughters seeing it. Understanding we affect each other unintentionally on a personal with our own actions, we have a choice, men, women, the human species, we can either help or hinder doing nothing is just as bad as hindering. HELP ME, help us, swallow the pride that drags out conflict for me I promise I will for you, be the bigger person,don’t give in to impulsive irrational emotions. It’s hard to be the bigger person it’s hard doing the right thing, but that’s what makes it right the difficulty, at least trying to work with one another. The die hards, the feminist, the radicals, the ones who hold there own morals and convictions in a way that will never result in progress, it’s up to you and me and the next person and so on and so on to hold ourselves to a higher standard, treat your fellow man/woman the way you would want to be treated. Guide our neighbors by elevating our own thoughts process to leave behind petty grievinous, jealousy, intolerance, frustration, and any other emotional impluse that we all have and abuse. They hinder clear rational thought, without clear rational thought on a base level along with a simple level of respect for others we will destroy what thousands of years or blood sweat and tears built and we have inherited. Its our duty to leave this world better then we found it for our future childeren and their childeren. We shall be the generation that killed the world or the generation that helped in pivot towards the future. Change starts with just one individual, but so does chaos, if we let trival things to divide us like how a Hardee’s commercial offends one person but not another lets argue back and forth at each other no compromise no continuity no evolution then death. The only thing nessacary for evil to triumph or flourish is for good men to do nothing. We are our own cancer, if you ever ask yourself why the world is so shit and who is responsible look in the mirror.

Your commercials are very offensive! You have them airing at prime time when young children are watching, shame on you! We won’t be eating at any of your establishments! I know you could care less but you will lose business over these commercials!

I absolutely agree that imagery such as this is demeaning to women and leaves the impression with with many women and girls who see it that they are not “good enough”. Particularly those who have been told over and over that there’s something wrong with them because they’re “too fat” “too skinny” “too pale” “too hairy” whatever. This shit is ridiculous. Frankly, I can’t even believe the concept that this is damaging to normal women is up for debate. But hey, #murica.

I think this also has a creeping, kind of insidious impact on males as well, who are bombarded with imagery like this. It really begins to warp one’s worldview. Some boys/ men can never be satisfied with an actual non-model human female, who in whatever way falls short of this imagery of the idealized woman. Some continue to chase this ideal, but never find it , and in the meantime destroy many potentially meaningful relationships. Some try to bend a wonderful human into society’s vision of ideal femininty, often with awful consequences for one or the other in the relationship. Some give up on real realtionships entirely, preferring the ever-available porn and occasional one-night-stands. This is more and more documented as sexuality & the internet are studied together, and the trends are concerning.

There are two sides of this coin – for females, it is an obvious and direct, in-your-face slam that 99% of women cannot live up to. And not a new one, as print media has been doing this full-on for at least 80 years (likely much more). For men, it can be damaging as well – a gnawing anxiety that somehow something is wrong with your partner; or that you are being cheated from something everyone else is getting; or that you are somehow not worthy of “the best” affection / sex life / partner / happiness. The ubiquity of oversexualizing females is potentially at or near peak, and it is damaging to both females and males. This needs to stop.

Although I do not agree with everything you say, I enjoy reading your blogs. It’s interesting because I just finished reading your blog about the recent March. Do you know why I, including thousands of other women did not attend? because I did not agree with how many of these women used sexuality to sell the event. This march has meaning, it is attached to a great deal of history, of hard work, of tears, of rapes, abuse…… and yet many (friends/colleagues, etc.) were sharing with me how they were getting ready to go to the march as if they were going to a ‘Mardi Gras’ parade. Personally it was insulting! The women before us and many women of today continue to fight hard to break free of this sexual objectification and yet the march was filled with much of it. I have dedicated my life, thinking how can I help make this world a better place for others, how can I show the world that as a woman I have value, which in no way is attached to physical body and when I see these ‘feminist’ walking around with a bra on and a pair of shorts cut off so short for the purpose of showing off their butt cheeks I sometimes can’t help but ask why? …and I seriously do ask why sometimes. To my surprise most of these ladies do not have an exact answer other than because I feel comfortable, because I want to, because…..blah blah (excuses) and when I then ask, who inspired them to dress or act in certain way, a person’s whose only purpose is to create body dysmorphia in mind. It’s unfortunate that many of these young and older ladies grew up with the women in these commercials as their role models. It is unfortunate that parents are letting society raise their children because they too are being raised and programmed by the norm of our society. As I always say, we have the power to change this world into a better place, a place of love and fulfillment, a play of purpose but unless we focus more on doing what is right, what is our duty, and less on doing what is easy then things will not get better. TRUMP is a great example of that. Why bother getting out of your homes now, where were all of you when we, the people who actually care about our world were hard at work trying to make an impact?!

Currently in my Communication and Ethics class we have been talking about the “pornification of society.” (Ess, 2010). Your example of these provocative commercials is the perfect example of how desensitized our American society is to pornographic material in our everyday life. Even if we find these commercials to be disgusting, there is no denying this kind of material is everywhere. Just look at today’s most popular music and movies, it is filled with sexual material. However, this commercial situation is unethical to me because they play it on primetime TV where little kids can easily have access to them. Little kids are so impressionable and shouldn’t have to grow up in a society where they have to see these commercials when they turn the TV on. Thank you for giving options on how people can help stop this! Why do you think Hardee’s tends to go with this type of advertisement? You bring up the topic of “sex sells”, but the other companies that are more successful than Hardee’s don’t use these advertisements. Do you think Hardee’s thinks it’s the only way to compete with its competitors?